Will it fall or not, the quarantine obligation for people who have tested positive for the corona virus? That is the question that the federal government and state leaders are currently debating via videoconference. The SPÖ-administered states of Vienna, Carinthia and Burgenland were skeptical in advance, criticizing the fact that they were repeatedly not informed by the turquoise-green government. According to the Ministry of Health, the decision has not yet been made. More than 100,000 people currently isolated would be affected.
Anyone infected with the coronavirus currently has to be in isolation for at least five days. This currently affects about 52,000 people who have tested positive in the past five days. After that, a “traffic restriction” applies for another five days: everyone who is symptom-free can again go out with people wearing an FFP2 mask or “test themselves completely free”. Currently, approximately 57,000 people fall within this period.
Infected to work – it could be
The summit will discuss the “different options for reorganizing the isolation of infected people,” the health ministry said recently. Chancellor Karl Nehammer also joins the ÖVP side. A draft scheme leaked a few days ago stipulates that in the future traffic restrictions may only apply to people infected with corona. So if you were infected with a mask, you could move freely almost anywhere. Entry bans only exist in certain places (hospitals, care and disabled facilities, kindergartens, primary schools and after-school care centers), but not for employees there.
Reactions to the government plan have been violent. Especially on the part of the SPÖ, people did not hold back when they thought of it. There were more moderate tones from the ÖVP-led countries, but they, too, were not so enthusiastic about the proposal. Experts such as virologist Norbert Nowotny and simulation researcher Niki Popper also warned on ORF not to expose vulnerable groups to too great a risk.
Do SPÖ countries dare to go it alone?
In the meantime, it is not entirely clear whether the SPÖ-led states would be able to abide by the quarantine rules on their own if the federal government were to abolish them. Constitutional lawyer Peter Bußjäger considers this an “example of somewhat unclear legislation” and considers problems “certainly” inevitable.
The reason for this is two contradictory paragraphs of the Epidemic Act. Paragraph 43a states that a regulation must in principle be issued by the Minister of Health, but if he does not do it, the federal states can also do it. However, the recently created paragraph 7b states that only the Minister of Health can set traffic restrictions.
Source: Krone
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
